OVER a cup of coffee I asked a former colleague, also a teacher of philosophy, whether he truly believes that Jesus saved us. The context of the question is no less the celebration of Christmas. It is after all, according to our faith, the birth of the “savior.” I won’t elaborate or even narrate (here) the answer of my friend. Allow me instead to once again invite us to think if not rethink a fundamental question. Did Jesus really save us and if so then how?
Church history tells us that the answer to the question is as varied as people’s view of salvation. One accepted explanation for example is the Ransom Model (or theory). In this view, Jesus was sent by the father in order to die for our sins. Think of the devil as a murderous criminal who would only release the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve on the condition that a payment so great would be worth their freedom.
Theologians who explained salvation in this sense understood the death of Jesus as, practically, a payment for the forgiveness of our sins. This explanation is of course is problematic, and is no longer held by some contemporary scholars.
We need not go through the different perspectives on salvation. What is important though is the retrieval of Christmas’ forgotten if not lost essence. I am referring to the isolation of Christmas as a celebration from the rest of the mysteries of faith. True, Christmas is an important event and it is something worth joyfully celebrating. However, in and by itself Christmas does not really mean anything. If understood against the backdrop of the history of salvation, it is not even the event of all events.
Like an opening salvo, Christmas deserves to be celebrated as a grand event. But what is the use of a grand opening if it is not followed by anything? What is the use of a messiah born into this world for nothing? Christmas alone is not and cannot be a singular or stand alone moment of salvation. It is the adult crucified Jesus (no less) who tells us what Christmas essentially means: "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” Apart from his ministry, passion, death, and ultimately resurrection, the birth in the manger is nothing different from anyone else’s birth.
It is therefore important that we reclaim not just the “spirit” but also the “spirituality” of Christmas. Without this “spirituality” Christmas lights are not in anyway different from Disneyland’s strategy of commercial attraction. It is precisely because of the diminishing meaning of Christmas that happiness lasts only for a day, and gratitude, instead, becomes an obligation; gift giving is no longer a gesture of loving but a symbol of status and privilege. In the end Christmas ceases to be a commemoration of the mysteries of salvation. It is reduced into a day of global philanthropic activity operating within the context of a world that is increasingly secular.
He who truly “believes” in Christmas is not afraid to confront the realities of this world. Why should we deny the sufferings of this world if in the very first place this same world – sad, broken, and divided was where the Eternal and Divine Word pitched his tent and decided to dwell amongst us?
The life of Him who was born is in itself the blueprint of salvation. Through his witnessing and self-giving, we are invited to do the same. The world cannot be redeemed if it refuses redemption. All men are called to live each day in the spirit of hope. Redemption is not a one shot deal; it is a choice to follow a certain way of life that is more often than not contrary to the agenda of any human system and its power brokers.
Christmas is a reminder that we are called to reaffirm our preference as believers, to realign our values, and rekindle our deep longings. God’s becoming one like us is a reminder that salvation is a divine gift that must be accepted by human hands, shared and lived among human souls.
And so this is Christmas.